Our Response to the Evidence

Our Response to the Evidence

As we shall investigate in the next chapter, there is clear evidence that the universe is expanding
from a hot, explosive beginning approximately 14 billion years ago. But before we explore this,
let us ask ourselves “how should we respond to the evidence?” A healthy respect for the role of
science does not require us to choose between it and the Bible. Rejecting the evidence from
science may indicate a lack of faith that the God of the Bible could be the same One who wrote
the laws governing our universe. I encourage people to consider how God can use the same
physical principles, which are used to understand the Big Bang theory, to accomplish His will
regarding creation. If the vast age of the universe is the only reason for rejecting the Big Bang
theory, then it’s time to give it thoughtful reconsideration.
As I wrote in the booklet, A Christian Physicist Examines the Age of the Earth, the Bible does
not permit a determination of the age of the earth or the universe from its passages without
questionable interpretations. However, creation itself does have much to tell us, containing a
record of its history all the way back to the moment of creation of the universe. We are now able
to examine the remarkable story written in the heavens more clearly than ever before. For the
sake of the nonscientist reader, I will attempt to tell the story in the most basic terms possible. It
is helpful to summarize the development of our scientific understanding and the interesting
accounts behind our most important discoveries. Then we will then explore several of the
popular objections and corresponding answers. Finally we will consider how the Big Bang
theory relates to the origin accounts of the Bible, since the Bible’s authority is used to guide the
Christian believer in a search for truth, especially in significant issues such as the creation of the
universe.